Severance
by villainsdontgethappyendings
Summary: **POSTPONED INDEFINITELY** The residents of Storybrooke have lived their lives under the assumption that the rest of the Land Without Magic is ignorant to their existence. They were wrong. And there are those who believe that magic does not belong in this world, and will do anything to stop it.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"Once upon a time, in the skies above us all, there lived a priest and a priestess. The priest was gilded in golden robes, and his name was Sol. He had the power of eternal flame. There was no cold corner his warmth could not reach, no darkness his light could not banish. The priestess was shrouded in silver robes, and her name was Luna. She had the power of eternal ice. There was no warm hideaway her cold could not reach, no light her dark could not smother. Forever alike, but completely opposite, the two spent their days watching the land and people below.

One day, tired of the praise and worship given to Sol, Luna decided she would prove her power in a challenge. She pulled one ring from her finger, and cast it down to the earth below. It settled into the snow, a perfect circle upon the frozen ground.

'With my ring, I make a gate upon the world. If that gate be opened, then the coldest and darkest of my magic shall walk upon the earth.' Declared Luna, 'These humans crave nothing but power – they worship you for that and nothing more. They will turn their attentions if someone promises more.'

'You are wrong, Luna.' Sol replied, 'The humans do not love me for my power, they love me for my warmth and compassion. You will lose this challenge, I am sure.'

Alas, Sol's trust in the humans was misplaced, and in the weeks that passed, a power-hungry soul did wander to Luna's Gate. Hearing tales of the gate's power, and hoping to earn it for himself, the man opened the gate upon the ground. No sooner than he had done this did he pay the price; his life was sapped from him, the fire of life one of the few things Luna's cold and dark magic could not create, and given to the dark creature that emerged from the gate.

Pleased with herself, Luna turned unto Sol:

'Look! See how your humans scurry to the promise of power!'

Sol, though his heart was heavy with betrayal, shook his head.

'The deeds of one man to do not condemn them all. I will not forsake them with this foul creature you have allowed to be unleashed.'

But, just as Luna's dark magic could not created the fire of life, so too could Sol's light magic not create the ice of death. He could not kill the dark creature Luna had made, so instead, the priest pulled his necklace from around his neck, and set the precious white gemstone into the sky.

'With my pendant, I made a star in the sky. If this star be wished upon, then the warmest and lightest of my magic shall fall to the earth.' Declared Sol, 'The humans house a will and courage that should be protected – they do not deserve to be forsaken.'

Soon, with the dark creature's chaos unleashed upon the world, someone turned to the brightest star in the sky:

'Ah, but if only that light were here upon the ground below! Surely, such a light would chase away this cold darkness!'

And with that, the Northern Star fell to the earth, taking the form of a beautiful woman. She sought out the Dark One, and they fought a vicious battle. But neither side could triumph in power – for every flame the Northern Star conjured, the Dark One suffocated it in darkness; for every shadow the Dark One created, the Light One dispelled it with light. They were as matched upon the earth as their counterparts in the skies above.

Alas, it would be the Light One's greatest strength that would be used against her by the cunning Dark One to end their battle. He implored to her for her forgiveness, and with all her compassion and hope, she granted him it. With her guards lowered, the Dark One struck, cursing the Light One to be sealed up among the stars forever more as the Northern Star.

As she was dragged away from the earth, the Light One begged the Dark One to tell her why he would treat her kindness with such anger. He replied that no one could ever be truly kind to him, for he was darkness, and no one could feel true kindness for the dark.

And there they remained, the Dark One on the ground below, and the Light One in the skies above, as distant and difference, as alike and connected as the Sun and Moon that created them."

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**A/N: It occurs to me after reading this over that it probably sounds like I'm setting up a really cheesy OC. I can assure you - the Light One will not be an OC. Anywho, this is the prologue, hope you enjoyed and will stick around to see how this goes! Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated. Many thanks to mayorbelle from Tumblr for allowing me to write this fanfic, which is inspired by her Northern Star AU idea. This fic will ****not**** be an AU, but is intended to read as if it were its own season in ****_Once Upon A Time_****, perhaps set between Season 2 and Season 3.**


	2. Interrupted

**Chapter One: Interrupted**

_"And there they remained, the Dark One on the ground below, and the Light One in the skies above, as distant and difference, as alike and connected as the Sun and Moon that created them."_

"...Well, that was horribly depressing."

Rumpelstiltskin's eyes flicked over to regard the woman sitting next to him in bed, the bedside lamp casting a glow over them as the woman read out her book to him. Rumple had been reading his own book, but Belle had excitedly announced she had found a mention of him (or, indeed, a previous Dark One) within the book she was reading, and set about reading it aloud for them both. Her excitement had rather dissolved as she reached the end, and she looked over to him, chewing her lip awkwardly.

"...Sorry..." She mumbled sheepishly, "I hadn't read ahead..."

Rumple set his own book aside on the bedside table, taking his reading glasses off and setting them on top of the book before turning back to Belle with a smile.

"It's not your fault. Very rarely do I find stories containing myself or my ancestors-of-sorts end happily." He commented, shuffling over a little to look over Belle's shoulder at the book in her hands. She looked at him with a smile then too, stealing a kiss on the cheek once he got close enough.

"Well, you _current _story doesn't seem to have such a bad ending..." Belle remarked around her smile, "...does it?"

Rumple couldn't help but smile back and slip ever closer, about to claim his love's lips with his own whe-

_Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt! Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!_

With a pained sigh, Rumple bowed his head a little, touching his forehead to Belle's own as his phone continued to buzz its way across the bedside table.

"Part of me wants to ignore it..." He mumbled, only for Belle to finish:

"...But part of _us _knows it's probably important. You should answer it." She reached across him to pick up the phone and hand it to her less-than-enthusiastic boyfriend – indeed, if someone was contacting Rumpelstiltskin at this hour, no doubt it was important. However, Belle couldn't help but frown a little at the name that flashed on the screen; Regina.

"It's Regina." She noted stiffly, handing Rumple the phone. Belle, despite all her forgiveness and heart, still found the woman difficult to find compassion for. Twenty-eight years in captivity would somewhat sour anyone's view of another. Her bitterness was reflected in Rumple's face as he looked at the phone, and begrudgingly answered.

"Regina. To what do I owe the pleasure of this _very. Late. Phone-call_?" The man ground the words out, making no effort to hide his displeasure.

"_Oh, I __**do **__hope I wasn't interrupting anything important._" Came the surly response, leaving the pawnbroker half-certain the venom in her voice would carry over the phone and taint his ear. "_But if you could drag yourself away from the bookworm for a few moments, we need your help._"

"...You know, your pleas for help are ever-so-slightly _tainted _by the insults. You might have more success with a sprinkle of _manners_."

"_Well, let's make a deal, shall we? You help us out of this mess, and I might grace you with a __**thank you**__._"

Rumple rolled his eyes, though his concern rose enough to ask what the problem was – the last thing he wanted was Belle to be in danger, _again_.

"...Deal. So, what disgruntled part of your past has reared its ugly head ready to kill us all, hm?"

"_You're hardly one to talk about a past coming to threaten us all, Rumple. But as it is...it isn't from anyone's past this time. This is from the here and now. Someone's come into the village. A stranger. They're looking for Tamara and Greg._"

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**A/N: I plan to update this fic every Sunday. Reviews would be much appreciated! Thank you for reading!**


	3. Separated

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated this in a while - it's hard to stay motivated with so few reviews coming in. Anywho, here's chapter 2, and I will try and get another chapter out this week before Sunday to make up for not updating last weekend. **

**Please drop a review if you're enjoying this! **

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**Chapter Two: ****Separated**

The town hall was abuzz with chatter and gossip by the time Belle and Rumpelstiltskin arrived. Despite the late hour, it seemed a threat from the world outside Storybrooke was enough to rouse everyone from their beds, be it out of curiosity or fear.

Silently, Rumple sat himself down at the back of the room, with Belle following suit.

"I thought after last time, Regina would have put more defences in place to stop anyone finding the town." She whispered to him. Rumple gave a shrug, his eyes fixed towards the front of the room where Regina had positioned herself, flanked by a concerned-looking David and a stony-faced Emma, who had her arms crossed as she regarded the mayor. The Saviour seemed to keep a close eye on Regina whenever these mishaps arose in the town, though Rumple didn't think it was necessarily out of suspicion that Regina was the _cause _of each problem. No, the look Emma gave Regina during such events was not one of suspicion like the rest of the town, nor was it one of approval. The look was more akin to...anxious _hope_. Hope born of their shared son – that the mayor would do the right thing, that she wouldn't let down Henry's belief in her as she'd done in the past.

Perhaps it was no longer just Henry who had faith in the once-Evil Queen...

"All right, if everyone could please be quiet, we can start." Regina's authoritive tone cut through the buzz of speech in the hall with ease, and the townsfolk quickly fell silent, their distrustful eyes turning to face Regina, who had long since become immune to their gaze. "Now, as I am sure most of you are aware, we've had..._visitors _to our town. The last time this happened, it ended poorly for a lot of us. So, I would like to assure you all that every measure is being taken to—"

"Where are they now?" Leroy's voice jumped out of the crowd, cutting the mayor's speech off suddenly. "If we're all here, then who's keepin' an eye on 'em?"

A murmur of agreement sounded before Regina spoke up again:

"There is no one with them...because we haven't yet _found _them, but I assure you—"

Once again, the mayor's assurances were met with united protests of the townsfolk, which did not quiet until Emma stepped forward.

"We haven't found them _yet, _but we know they're in the town somewhere. They won't be able to hide for long. But until David and I can track 'em down, we need all of you to work with us. When this meeting's over, we need you all to return to your homes and lock the doors. Stay inside until you hear word from one of us that—"

"So it's _not _safe? What's really going on here?" Leroy butted in once again, a frown creasing over his face. At this, the townsfolk began to stir up again, worried as to why they would need to lock themselves away. It took some time to calm them enough for Emma to speak, during which Belle turned to Rumple.

"Greg and Tamara were a problem, but not to this sort of scale. What could possibly have gotten them so concerned so quickly?"

Rumple narrowed his eyes, the suspicion having crossed his own mind too.

"I'm not sure...but I don't think any pushing from Leroy will make them tell us exactly what has happened." He replied dryly, his eyes scanning the room. They eventually settled on Ruby; the woman was sitting near to them, her head bowed. Something had clearly upset her, but one freezing glare from Granny next to her sent Rumple's eyes away. He leaned to speak to Belle once more. "I have a few theories..."

Belle frowned at him, before following where his eye-line had gone before. Seeing Ruby and her obvious upset, the woman rose and moved to sit next to her friend in order to console her.

"You are _all _gonna be fine. It's just a precaution." Emma reassured them once the noise settled down. "It's nothing we haven't handled before, and we'll get through it again. Please, we need you to trust us to deal with this. I _promise _you, once we have more information, you'll be the first to know."

Approval of Emma swayed them more than Regina, and, though reluctantly, the townspeople began to file out of the room to return to their homes and secure themselves. Rumple, Belle, Ruby and Granny, however, remained behind.

Getting to his feet, Rumple made his way over to the Saviour and the mayor.

"So, I'm guessing our problem is of the canine variety." He noted, casting a backward glance over his shoulder to where Belle and Ruby were still sitting talking. "What's happened?"

Emma scowled at Rumple's tone, but spoke regardless:

"Whoever's come into the town has the same goals Tamara and Greg had. They wanna prove that magic exists, and they wanna wipe it out. And whoever they are, they're _good. _They're trained. They managed to steal Ruby's cloak. Last time she went wolf, we had a hard time keeping her contained. They not only knew about Ruby's problem, but they knew what controlled it. I'm guessin' Greg and Tamara were reporting back to someone here in our world, they definitely weren't working alone..."

"And whilst we're running around trying to _find _them and reclaim Ruby's cloak, we're also going to be trying to keep tabs on a werewolf."

"That's...not it. Whoever they are, they've got her cloak, but not because they want Ruby to be a problem to the town. They're offering an exchange."

Rumple cocked an eyebrow up, curiosity enticed.

"A deal?"

"Yeah..." Emma looked forlornly over at Ruby. "...We give 'em Ruby, they give her her cloak back..."

"...And then they have a contained werewolf they can use as proof of magic." Rumple concluded.

"How? If they take her over the town line, anything magical won't work." David noted, "Ruby won't be able to transform."

"They don't need to take her over the town line. Once they've got her wherever they're hiding _here, _in Storybrooke, all they gotta do is wait for the full moon and record her transforming. Then thrown the cloak over her before she can hurt them." Emma replied, chewing on her bottom lip. "They'll have proof of magic they can send anywhere in the world."

"So, we find them and take back the cloak." David retorted, folding his arms, "Storybrooke isn't _that _big a place. We'll find them."

"The full moon is tomorrow night. If we don't find them, we're putting the whole town at risk. The priority is to get Ruby reunited with her cloak. At least then we have one danger out of the way." Regina said, looking over at Ruby herself.

"There is another option."

All eye turned to Rumpelstiltskin as he spoke, awaiting whatever plan he had up his sleeve. He gave a smirk, then said: "...We offer them a better deal."


End file.
